Unit 1 - Bottom of the Ninth

The Word Up Project: Level Green
Unit 1 - Bottom of the Ninth
1A Introduction
This song tells a dramatic story that is familiar to any baseball fan. The home team is losing by
one run in the bottom of the ninth inning in an important game. The stadium is packed; the
crowd is going crazy. The team has one more chance to tie the game. In this case, that chance
goes by the name El Gato.
1B Song Lyrics
I like the way you swing.
I like the way you play the game.
Everybody was charged like a battery,
The stadium was filled to capacity.
The maximum amount of fans, not the minimum,
The most. The whole crowd was cheering ‘em.
They were rocking in their seats,
While in the city, they were bopping in the streets.
The crowd was boisterous, making noise for us,
Rough, wild, loud enough, these boys are tough.
Bottom of the ninth inning, and the score was tight,
Five to four. I’m sad to report we weren’t winning.
Usually, the other team was inept at pitching,
They lacked skill in it like the park lacks ceilings.
But today, they had held back and restrained
From throwing too many balls away.
But next up to the plate (or “plato”)
Was the hero of our team, El Gato.
The commentary came from an announcer
Named Dave, who commented upon the game.
He had a low voice, and he said:
“Next up, the cat with bat, El Gato!”
The whole crowed marveled at this marvel,
They watched him in astonishment like a model.
He was a big factor in our winning streak,
He was the reason the men and the women shrieked.
Hook
He was sweating, and the cumulative effect
Of many hours in the sun: His brow was wet.
The pitcher tried to intimidate and scare him up,
He had the face of a bear and the smell of a skunk.
El Gato painstakingly tightened his gloves,
He did it very carefully, tight like hugs.
The pitcher got a strike on the first pitch that he threw,
And then El Gato swung and missed: strike number two.
Now all the fans were in pain and anguish,
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Unit 1
anguish / boisterous / capacity / commentary / continuous / cumulative / erupt / factor / inept / intimidate / marvel / maximum / painstaking / restrain / unanimous
Like someone had sat on their hope sandwich.
It was unanimous, everybody agreed,
That it was too exciting to sit in our seats.
Pitch three, continuous movement, no stop,
In slow-mo, until we heard a loud pop.
The ball was going, going, gone,
And the crowd erupted and exploded in a song.
Hook
1C Words Defined
Below you’ll find each vocabulary word that was used in the song. Each word is followed by
the part of speech, a simple definition and a meaningful sentence. Some words will also have
synonyms, antonyms and other forms of the word listed.
1. boisterous
noisy and rowdy
(adj)
Cheerleaders are a very boisterous group.
Antonyms: quiet, calm
2. capacity
(noun)
1. the largest possible amount that can be contained 2. the ability to do something
1. The auditorium is filled to capacity. 2. Luckily, I have the capacity to stay cool in hot places.
3. maximum
(adj)
the highest allowable amount
The maximum number of horses that could fit in the stable was three.
Synonyms: utmost, limit
Antonyms: minimum
4. inept
(adj)
without skill, clumsy
Nina was completely inept at cooking a tasty meal.
Antonyms: skilled, graceful
5. restrain
(verb)
to hold back from
It was difficult for me to restrain from eating too much at the all-you-can-eat buffet.
Other forms: Danny showed his restraint (noun) by eating only a salad and a piece of bread.
6. commentary
(noun)
an explanation or interpretation
The President’s speech was followed by a political commentary on the local news channel.
7. marvel
(noun)
a wonderful thing or an awesome sight
Yosemite National Park is a natural marvel that takes people breath away daily.
Synonyms: a wonder, miracle
Other forms: Marvel is also a verb meaning “to wonder at” as in: I always marvel at those at
the beach who can swim for hours in that cold water.
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The Word Up Project: Level Green
8. factor
(noun)
a reason or circumstance
One factor that convinced Sheila to take the job was the huge salary.
Synonyms: aspect, cause
Other forms: You must factor (verb) groceries, gas and the electric bill into your budget if you
are thinking of living on your own. You must include them.
9. cumulative
(adj)
increasing by adding one thing after another
The cumulative effect of not studying for any science test all year forced me to attend summer
school to remedy the F.
Other forms: Cumulative is related to accumulation (noun), which is what you get when things
gather for a while, like snow.
10. intimidate
(verb)
to frighten, threaten, scare
Tanya always tries to intimidate Nancy before competitions by making fun of her skating ability,
tripping her intentionally, and hiding her outfits.
Antonyms: to comfort, encourage
Other forms: Mr. Keller was known for using intimidation (noun) in his classroom as a
technique to maintain a silent class.
11. painstaking
(adj)
taking a lot of care or trouble; careful
Dr. Zino performed a painstaking exam of the baby looking for what could be causing his pain
and constant crying.
Antonyms: careless, sloppy
Other forms: The hunter painstakingly (adverb) waited in the bushes for a duck to fly close
enough for him to shoot.
12. anguish
(noun)
extreme suffering or pain
The anguish that Thomas felt from the death of his mother was overwhelming and kept him
from going to work for a year.
Other forms: Anguish is also a verb meaning “to suffer” as in: Amelia will anguish over the
loss of her pet hamsters because she has raised them since they were born.
13. unanimous
(adj)
in complete agreement, everyone agreed
It was a unanimous decision by the students to make summer vacation six months long.
14. continuous
(adj)
without interruption or end
The continuous pounding of the hammers from the construction site next door made it
impossible for the baby to take a nap.
Synonyms: nonstop, constant, unbroken
15. erupt
(verb)
to burst, explode or release suddenly
Vincent was convinced that the pimple on his face was going to erupt and gross out his
friends at the lunch table.
Synonyms: to blow up, burst, gush
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Unit 1
anguish / boisterous / capacity / commentary / continuous / cumulative / erupt / factor / inept / intimidate / marvel / maximum / painstaking / restrain / unanimous
Other forms: The volcano’s eruption (noun) surprised all of us, even the scientists who had
studied it for years.
1D Fix the Mistake
Each of the sentences below has a mistake. The wrong vocabulary words have been used, so the
sentences don’t make sense. Rewrite each sentence using the correct vocabulary word from this unit.
1.
Nathan’s ability to draw perfect circles was a commentary to his classmates.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Alexander experienced a lot of pain and factor when he first got his braces put on.
3.
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When Christopher first started going to the skate park he was continuous at completing any cool skateboarding tricks.
4.
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The velvet ropes intimidated the crowd from stepping onto the red carpet, where the
celebrities walked to enter Radio City Music Hall for the awards show.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5.
The fan was so maximum during the game that security had to escort him out of the arena.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6.
The jury finally reached a cumulative guilty decision in the highly publicized court case.
7.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
When Mount St. Helens restrained in the year 1980, the lava and landslides caused devastation
throughout the volcano’s surrounding region.
8.
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The banquet room was filled to marvel for Brian’s bar mitzvah celebration.
9.
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Her lack of effort toward completing her school work over the last year resulted in a severe drop of her painstaking grade point average.
10.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The broadcasters on ESPN’s Sportscenter provide daily anguish for all of the sporting news highlights.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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The Word Up Project: Level Green
11.
When the plumbing pipes broke in our apartment, there was a cumulative flow of water gushing from underneath the sink for four hours.
12.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Austin was restrained to ask his secret crush to dance with him at the prom.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
13.
The doctor ineptly stitched up the gash on Isaiah’s knee.
14.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
One-hundred percent is the unanimous score a student can earn on each weekly
spelling test.
15.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
An autograph book signing session by J.K. Rowling was the main marvel in causing a long line outside of the bookstore.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
1E Pick the Winner
Circle the word that best fits into the sentence. Then write a sentence below that uses the word you
didn’t pick in a meaningful way.
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1.
Marcus had to get off of the computer at the public library when he reached the
(maximum OR continuous) amount of time that he’s allowed to surf the web.
2.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Jessica felt that the Fourth of July fireworks display was a (capacity OR marvel).
4.
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5.
When Deion was finally grounded for a month by his parents, it was a result of many (painstaking OR cumulative) negative acts.
6.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
7.
Hunter (erupted OR intimidated) with excitement when he scored the
game-winning soccer goal.
8.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
9.
At tribal council, the voting result was one vote short of (inept OR unanimous), but it was still enough to get rid of the weakest player.
10.
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Unit 1
anguish / boisterous / capacity / commentary / continuous / cumulative / erupt / factor / inept / intimidate / marvel / maximum / painstaking / restrain / unanimous
1F Draw the Relationship
In each grouping of eight words below, draw straight lines between the synonyms (words that mean
similar things) and squiggly lines between any antonyms (words that mean nearly opposite things).
Every word should have at least one line connected to it. Some may have more.
explanation
1
2
3
4
increasing
reason
commentary
boisterous
calm
cumulative
factor
restrain
unanimous
everyone agrees
intimidate
erupt
bully
hold back
explode
marvel
painstaking
comfort
maximum
careless
anguish
small amount
awesome sight
amount
clumsy
stopped
inept
boisterous
continuous
capacity
noisy
1G Understanding What You Read
Read the passage below. Then answer the questions.
Early one morning in the spring of 1980, a single event changed the landscape of the
northwestern United States. Mount St. (Saint) Helens, an active volcano located in Washington
state, erupted. The explosion wasn’t a surprise. Scientists had been painstakingly watching
the volcano and conducting tests. They knew it was about to blow.
The boisterous eruption that morning came as a result of years of cumulative magma
buildup deep within the volcano itself. It was also caused by a small earthquake deep within
the ground, which forced the magma and gases up to the top of the volcano.
What happened next? The entire top of Mount St. Helens blew off, sending rocks, lava,
and ash everywhere. When the north side of the volcano fell, it resulted in the largest landslide
ever recorded in the history of The United States.
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The Word Up Project: Level Green
Immediately after the volcanic eruption, news crews arrived to provide commentary to
the entire world, describing what had just taken place. The newscasters offered safety tips for
everyone in the area, because volcanic ash was still falling from the sky like snowflakes. The
ash even traveled a maximum distance of 500 miles and rained down on people in Colorado.
As the people marveled at the sight of the enormous volcano smoking, rescue teams were
busy trying to locate and save the people lost amid the rocks and ash.
In all, the powerful blast killed 57 people and many thousands of animals. Scientists
later estimated that the eruption was 27,000 times as powerful as the atomic bombs used in
World War II, a reminder to all of us that nature’s power is enormous.
Today, Mount St. Helens looks very different than it did before 1980. Where the peak of
the volcano once stood, there is now a crater, a hole that stretches over a mile wide. As a result,
the volcano is more than a thousand feet shorter than it once was. Mount St. Helens is still
active today. In fact, the volcano has erupted 40 times since 1980, but no blast has been even
close to the size of that huge explosion that shook the United States.
1. According to the text, Mount St. Helens is
(A) an inactive volcano in Washington, DC
(B) a huge mountain in Colorado
(C) an active volcano in Washington state
(D) an active volcano in Colorado
2. The explosion in 1980 was
(A) a surprise to most scientists
(B) the result of pressure released from an earthquake
(C) the biggest volcanic explosion the world had ever seen
(D) more deadly than every natural disaster since
3. In the line that says “ash was still pouring from the sky like snowflakes,” why might the
author decide to describe the ash using this comparison?
(A) She wanted to let the reader know it was very cold at the time.
(B) She wanted to explain that the volcano kicked up lots of snowflakes that fell on the landscape, along with the ash.
(C) She wanted to let the readers picture the ash falling from the sky, in case they weren’t sure what it looked like.
(D) She always dreamed of being a poet.
4. Which statement is NOT true?
(A) Volcanic ash traveled as far as Colorado.
(B) The TV news helped provide safety information to people.
(C) The eruption was much stronger than the force of atomic bombs.
(D) Mount St. Helens killed 57 scientists.
5. The passage is most likely
(A) a true story written by someone just before they were killed by the volcano
(B) a made-up story by a talented author
(C) a report by someone who wants to bomb volcanoes before they can erupt
(D) a true story written by someone around the year 2007
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Unit 1
anguish / boisterous / capacity / commentary / continuous / cumulative / erupt / factor / inept / intimidate / marvel / maximum / painstaking / restrain / unanimous
1H Thinking Creatively
Answer each question below. Don’t be afraid to think creatively.
1.
How could you feel anguish and joy at the same time?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think is the biggest factor for getting good grades in school?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Besides the word commentary, list two more words that start with “com.” Do they relate to commentary at all?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Briefly describe the idea behind a made-up book called The Boisterous Factor.
4. 5. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe a restraint on students at school that you wish you could change.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Word Breakdown
The word painstaking is pretty interesting. It’s really just two words put together: “pains” and “taking.”
So if you do something painstakingly, you are just “taking pains” to do it correctly. You’ll do it correctly
even if it hurts. The underground rapper C-Rayz Walz uses the word to describe the hip-hop game:
“The game is painstaking, I remain ancient.”
The word anguish comes from an old French word “anguisse,” which means “a choking sensation.”
So when you feel anguish it’s almost like feeling you’re choking. The rapper Talib Kweli uses the word
in his song “Love Language.” He notes that his raps are full of love and language, while others rap
from “pain and anguish.”
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